Eminem is the stage name of a celebrated American rap singer and author. Born in 1972, Marshall Mathers broadcasted his first album in 1996 and gained his worldwide popularity in 2000 with his album The Marshal Mathers LP. Eminem is one of the most well-known representatives of rap culture in the world. The famous producer is also known as Slim Shady.
The name Eminem is a representation of Marshall Mathers’ initials — Em and Em. The name became synonymous to rap music and the Eminem logo is a good and strong reflection of the rap lifestyle. It has always been composed of a simple wordmark in a monochrome palette, and was just slightly redesigned during the years.
The first logo appeared on the cover of Eminem’s debut album Infinite. It is a classically executed wordmark in all-caps, in a serif font, which is Bookman Old Style Bold. Its thick and bold lines make the logo strong and eye-catching despite its simplicity and black lettering on white background.
In 1997 the Eminem logo was redesigned, approaching the principles of minimalism and simplicity. The name of the rap singer was written in the black uppercase letter on a white background, using a clean modern geometric sans-serif with wide traditional contours and distinct lines and cuts. It was perfectly balanced in terms of sizes and space and evokes a sense of professionalism and style.
In 2000 the base of the current logo was created. It can be seen on the cover of Marshal Mathers LP album, which made the rapper popular.
All-caps lettering of the singer’s name is executed in a bold font with straight lines and sharp angles. It is similar to Helvetica Neue Bold Extended. The main detail of the logo is a letter “E” which is written backwards. This became a unique and recognizable symbol of Eminem.
The color palette remain the same, but sometimes the backwards “E” is colored red, which adds more energy and passion to the Eminem logo.
The logo, created in 2013 is based on the previous version, it features the same typeface and color scheme, but the letters “M” and “N” of the nameplate lost one of their vertical bars. The second “M” of Eminem and the “N” share it’s side bar with the letter “I”, which creates an interesting graphical effect. The last “M” of the wordmark shares its left bar with the backwards “E”.
The signature ”E” is used as a signifier or an icon, sometimes the Eminem name is placed on it’s vertical bar, but even without it the ”E” is instantly recognizable.